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An Even Dozen for Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison were the top contenders for the 1982 NASCAR Cup Series championship, collecting a combined 20 victories during the 30-race schedule.
Waltrip was in the second year of a three-year contract with former driver and team owner Junior Johnson. It was undoubtedly the best ride of his career as Waltrip claimed the 1981 championship with Johnson and carried strong momentum into the 1982 season.
Under the direction of crew chief Jeff Ham- mond, Junior Johnson and Associates was at the top of its game as Waltrip won 12 races and claimed seven poles.
Ironically, Allison had seen Waltrip defeat him for 1981 championship and wanted desperately to change the outcome. With Gary Nelson calling the shots from his pit box, Allison and the DiGard Racing team managed to log eight victories.
When Waltrip faltered, Allison prevailed and the same held true when Allison fell to the wayside. However, Waltrip won four of the final seven races and beat Allison by 72 points to captured his second consecutive series title.
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DARRELL WALTRIP notched 12 victories with six coming on short tracks and six on superspeedways. He claimed his second series championship and it was his second year of winning 12 races. Waltrip led 3,028 of 9,455 laps completed. His average finish of 9.8 was hampered by eight DNFs in 30 starts.
ON MAY 30, 1982, Neil Bonnett, driving the Wood Brothers Racing Ford, led 67 of 400 laps to win the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Alabama native wheeled the No. 21 Thunderbird around Bill Elliott with 13 laps remaining to collect the 11th of his 18 Cup Series victories.
DRIVING THE NO.11 Mt. Dew Buick fielded by Junior Johnson and Associates, Darrell Waltrip visited Victory Lane 12 times during the 1982 season. Bobby Allison, wheeling the No. 88 DiGard Racing Buick, won eight of the 30 NASCAR Cup Series races that season, including the prestigious Daytona 500.
DATE | LOCATION | WINNER
Feb. 14 | Daytona International Speedway | Bobby Allison
Feb. 21 | Richmond Raceway | Dave Marcis
March 14 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
March 21 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
March 28 | Rockingham Speedway | Cale Yarborough
April 4 | Darlington Raceway | Dale Earnhardt
April 18 | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
April 25 | Martinsville Speedway | Harry Gant
May 2 | Talladega Superspeedway | Darrell Waltrip
May 8 | Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville | Darrell Waltrip
May 16 | Dover International Speedway | Bobby Allison
May 30 | Charlotte Motor speedway | Neil Bonnett
June 6 | Pocono Raceway | Bobby Allison
June 13 | Riverside International Raceway | Tim Richmond
June 20 | Michigan International Speedway | Cale Yarborough
July 4 | Daytona International Speedway | Bobby Allison
July 10 | Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville | Darrell Waltrip
July 25 | Pocono Raceway | Bobby Allison
Aug. 1 | Talladega Superspeedway | Darrell Waltrip
Aug. 22 | Michigan International Speedway | Bobby Allison
Aug. 28 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Sept. 6 | Darlington Raceway | Cale Yarborough
Sept. 12 | Richmond Raceway | Bobby Allison
Sept. 19 | Dover International Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Oct. 3 | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Oct. 10 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Harry Gant
Oct. 17 | Martinsville Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Oct. 31 | Rockingham Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Nov. 7 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Bobby Allison
Nov. 21 | Riverside International Raceway | Tim Richmond
